The University of Maine football program has never played an opponent from the state of Mississippi in its 113-year history. Nor has it ever met a Southeastern Conference foe on the gridiron.
The No. 15 ranked (Div. 1-AA poll) Black Bears will change that when they face the Bulldogs Saturday at 6 p.m. after a 1,562-mile journey from Orono, Maine.
“The fact that they are a division 1-AA gives them a great deal of incentive as far as playing an SEC team,” head coach Sylvester Croom said. “It would be a big feather in their cap if they could come in here on the road and win a game on our field.”
While Mississippi State recovers from its 43-14 loss to Auburn, the Black Bears will be rolling into Starkville on the heels of a 38-0 pounding of No. 23 (Div.1-AA poll) Northern Colorado.
The Black Bear offense returns seven starters from last season’s 6-5 campaign. Maine averaged 367 yards of total offense last season. They ranked 50th out of 121 division 1-AA teams.
Sophomore quarterback Ron Whitcomb threw for 2,428 yards last season and 21 touchdowns. His performance earned him Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year.
Whitcomb was 24 of 32 for 234 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Black Bear’s opening 20-27 loss to No.3 Montana. He threw for only 112 yards against Northern Colorado, but completed over 50 percent of his passes and threw two touchdowns.
Marcus Williams, a five-foot-10, 230-pound senior, will lead Maine’s ground attack. Williams has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons and has racked up 2,690 career rushing yards. He carried 20 times and picked up 105 yards and one touchdown in Maine’s opening loss to Montana. Williams carried 16 times for 85 yards and a touchdown last week in the Black Bears’ home opener.
“They have one of the better running backs (in the country),” Croom said about Williams, who ranked 15th in Division 1-AA teams last year averaging 117 yards a game. “He’s a big back, very much like those we played last week, which does not mean for a lot of restful nights, particularly the way we tackled last week.”
The Bulldogs have reverted back to tackling fundamentals at practice this week. Croom took the tackling, or lack thereof, during the Auburn game personally.
“If people are going to score on us I want them to do it through the air not on the ground,” Croom stated. “Because to me that is a direct questioning of how tough we are physically, mentally and of our character when they can shove it down your throat the way Auburn did last week. So I take it very personal when they can run the football on our defense.”
For Maine’s aerial attack, Whitcomb’s largest and most consistent target is wide receiver Christian Pereira. The six foot three, 200-pound receiver averaged 75 receiving yards a game last year, along with a total of 10 touchdowns. Pereira has 12 catches this season for 149 yards and a couple of touchdowns.
“I’ve always thought any time, offensively that you have an outstanding quarterback, an outstanding running back and one truly bonified go to receiver, I don’t care what the scheme is on offense, you can have a decent offense,” Croom said. “They’re not only decent, they have a very good offense.”
Maine’s defensive unit, which is nicknamed the “Black Hole”, returns seven starters from a squad that ranked 20th in total defense last year, only allowing 308 yards of offense per game.
“Their secondary is pretty good,” MSU receivers coach Guy Holliday said about the Black Bears defense. “I would not say they are SEC caliber, but overall they’re as good as Tulane and some of the other teams that we will face.”
Maine was in command against North Colorado last week, intercepting five passes and returning two for touchdowns. They held UNC to just 28 yards rushing and had four sacks for a loss of 36 yards. The Black Bear defense has not allowed an opponent to score in the first quarter all of this year. In their last six contests, Maine has outscored its opponents 56-7, in the first quarter.
State has not scored in the first half this season. The Bulldogs hope to change this Saturday, but injuries may hinder the Dawgs’ effectiveness.
With an already battered offensive line, backup guard Otis Riddley has torn his ACL and is doubtful to return this season.
“Any injury in the offensive line just compounds a tough situation,” Croom said. “We have to work with what we got. It’s going to be a real short bench.”
Starting wide receiver McKinley Scott is doubtful to play this Saturday due to a hamstring injury and receiver Ray Ray Bivines has a nerve injury that is not getting any better. Bivines was projected to be back in the middle of the season, but the fifth year senior is questionable to return this season at all.